The
National Park Service today reopened Cape Point for pedestrian access,
but it will likely be another two weeks before it will open to off-road
vehicle access.

According to Randy Swilling, the seashore's natural resources program
manager, the last remaining American oystercatcher chick at Cape Point
fledged yesterday, and a least tern colony has finished nesting and
moved on.

This morning, the Park Service opened pedestrian corridors to
Cape Point from the east side, with access via Ramp 44, and from the
former Ramp 45 on the west side of the Point. Access via Ramp 45
is from a parking lot at the back of the Cape Point Campground.

However, park regulations require an additional two-week wait after an oystercatcher chick fledges.

The chick is considered fledged when it is observed flying for 30
meters. However, park biologists explain that the oystercatcher
chicks are large and awkward, so the park's wildlife buffer rules call
for an extra two weeks to be sure the chick is flying competently
before the area is open to vehicles.

Swilling said in an e-mail today that seashore officials will look for
additional opportunities to open the Point earlier, but there are no
guarantees.

The latest that Cape Point would reopen, he said, would be Sunday, Aug. 30.